Being an impression piece, the inspiration for this build was heavily influenced by reference pictures and material; like this:
In short, if the PJ’s weren’t using it, I wasn’t going to be either. With that being said, the build went through quite an evolution to reach the point it is at today.
I tried everything from 12” FSP rails to 7” quad rails, red dots to shortdots, vertical to angled grips, WML lights to Scouts, the whole nine yards. I could have probably built a solid few complete uppers with all the parts I have gone through at this point. I was constantly evaluating my build and looking for the next best thing that would improve handling or performance; and this was all being done on just a regular old King Arms AEG!
The PTW came from a good friend of mine, starting out as an M4 lower with a 416 upper on it, and a plethora of extra parts.
The plan was to rebuild my old PJ set up using the parts I’d accumulated, as I had sold off the King Arms to help fund the project. Unfortunately, nothing happened for just over a year, as parts were still being sourced; time to work on it was nowhere to be found, and just life in general got in the way.
I was really starting to miss the set up and then HAO came to the rescue by dropping their Colt receiver set and SOCOM profile barrel: two of the biggest pieces that were really holding my build back. HAO’s product hit just the right spot in being easily accessible, relatively affordable, and drop dead gorgeous!
Once my order arrived, it was finally time to bring back the PJ build. With a lot of help from a very good friend (Juicy from Overhoppers blog) it was finally finished. I had come full circle and rebuilt what I had been so proud of before, this time only bigger, better, and more Gucci 🙂
As an impressionist, I am typically a stickler for details. If I couldn’t find a reference picture for something, I wasn’t going to be using it. For some this doesn’t work well and they tweak the minor things that give them greater function over form. Oddly enough, my build naturally evolved into a photorealistic piece that still maintained maximum functionality for me.
At this point I would like to say that the build is done. All of the major pieces like optics and the light have been upgraded to RS components, and the finer details that many tend to miss like the Omega rail and Surefire flash hider are all out of the way.
Way back when, before selling the King Arms, I attempted a two tone paint job on it to make the upper looked like it was dropped-in.
I already know the things that I would do differently if I attempted it again, but that decision is being held for another day at this point.
It has been a long time coming to get this build complete, and I am extremely relieved and happy to have gone through it all. With this out of the way, it also gives me a chance to catch up on some finishing touches with the rest of my kit.
Then once time, weather, and location permits, a final photoshoot of the complete impression can be done 🙂
And I hope I can persuade Southpaw to feature that in The Reptile House Blog.
Massive thanks to Southpaw for making things easy for me and writing this guest piece. When I spotted his awesome blaster I knew I had to feature it, not least because I have one in the works myself having fallen in love with the retro-PJ look.
Lastly, as tradition dictates, Southpaw’s parts list is below:
Parts list:
-HAO Colt Receiver Set
-HAO M4A1 SOCOM Profile 14.5″ Barrel
-Surefire FA556-212A Flash Hider*
-Daniel Defense 7″ Omega Rail
-Magpul STR Stock
-RWA Buffer Tube*
-VFC KAC 600M Rear Iron Sight*
-Aimpoint 3X MAG
-Larue LT755 FTS Mount
-EOTech XPS2-0
-Element Insight LA-5C*
-Surefire M600C Scout Light
-Magpul AFG2 FDE
-Magpul MOE Trigger Guard
-Norgon Ambidextrous Magazine Catch
-Magpul PMAG (RS Converted for PTW)
-Blue Force Gear VCAS Padded Sling, Multicam*Replica
The Reptile House 